A packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables, and a method for packing fruit, berries and vegetables

ABSTRACT

Present invention relates to a packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables, and a method for packing fruit, berries and vegetables, where the packaging box may be made of environmental friendly materials, such as cardboard. The packaging box comprising at least four walls ( 2,3,11,12 ) comprising at least a front wall ( 3 ) two opposing side walls ( 11,12 ) and a back wall ( 12 ), a bottom ( 13 ), and a lid ( 4 ), wherein a first side ( 41 ) of the lid ( 4 ) is connected to the upper end of one of the back wall ( 2 ) and front wall ( 3 ), and a second side of the lid, opposite the first side ( 41 ), being adapted for connecting to the outside of a side wall.

Present invention relates to a packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables, and a method for packing fruit, berries and vegetables, where the packaging box may be made of environmental friendly materials, such as cardboard.

The packaging industry for packaging portions and small quantum fruits, vegetables, berries and the like for consumers is dominated by plastic based packaging solutions. Recent discoveries has proven that use of plastic is a real threat to nature, and it has become evident that humans need to produce less plastic waste.

Using environmental friendly materials in such packaging is problematic, since the requirement for safekeeping, fresh keeping, transport friendliness and production cost are all elements that need to be considered when selecting packaging method and material.

Plastic packaging has proven to be cheap and easy to produce, easy to make robust enough to stack, and security for the products may be handled at an acceptable level. The flexibility of plastic and the ability to produce almost any form using production techniques such as machines that can heat the plastic material (PVC, PP, PE, POF, PPT, PTGF, APET, ABS, OPP, PS, PET, etc) and make them soft, then vacuum suction and transform sheet material into various plastic blisters, or extruding techniques is considered a great advantage. A problem for packaging using non-softening or non-extrudable materials is how to make a packaging providing good storage, visibility of product, strength and low enough production price level.

When producing packaging for fruit, berries and vegetables products for the consumer market, it is also vital to provide a packaging that can store products in a preserving manner, providing an environment that is endurable for the packaged products. Problems relates typically to ventilation, withstanding moisture from the environment or the packaged goods, and ability to stack packaging units in a space efficient manner.

When using non-transparent materials, it is also a problem for the consumer to get a good understanding of the content of the box in question.

A further problem with boxes fruit, berries or vegetables, is that when packed in open boxes, as often is the case, shoppers may touch and harm the fruit, berries or vegetables or vulnerable portions of these. One example is the stem of the avocado, which frequently is pulled free from the avocado itself, and thus disable any future purchaser to check the ripeness when the avocado is purchased and brought home.

A further problem with boxes of any kind for containing fruit, berries or vegetables, is that the box may not be filled to its maximum, and when a prefabricated lid is placed on top, there is too much room inside the box such that the fruit, berries or vegetables is able to be thrown around inside the box with the risk of damage and pressure marks. This lower the quality of the goods considerable, and the customer is unlikely to be satisfied with the product.

Having packaging units that provides headspace inside the packaging unit limits the handling of the packaging unit under transport. It may be very harmful to the content if the packaging boxes were to be placed on its side, even if this would have made sense for a transport optimization purpose. It is a challenge to find an optimal logistics solution when transporting fruits, berries and vegetables, due to their vulnerability if being roughly handled. It is also a challenge to find package casings being able to be stacked on top of each other, and the packaging crates must often individually be of much higher strength, hence higher cost, more material and more complex packaging routines has to be implemented.

A further problem is that the consumer may want to get access to some of the products for consuming, but will still be able to contain the fruit, berries or vegetables in a firm manner inside the box for later consumption. This is often not possible once the wrapping of the goods is broken.

It is a goal for the present invention to provide a packaging solving some or all of the problem stated above, and at the same time use only environmental friendly materials for building the packaging boxes.

In a first embodiment a packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables is provided made of cardboard material having a design providing features for easy filling and tightening of a lock for keeping the goods safely and firmly inside the packaging box.

In a further embodiments of the packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables it is provided a packaging box for easy transport stackability, lower material use, optimized use of space under transport, visibility of the packaged goods, safety for content not being tampered before purchase is completed, and easy access to the content of the packaging box for extracting portions of the content.

The packaging box may be provided for automated machine packing.

According to the present invention, the objective is reached by a packaging box defined by the features in the independent claim 1. Further advantageous or alternative embodiments are given in the dependent claims.

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the disclosure and are described in the following:

FIG. 1 —packaging box in a first embodiment

FIG. 2 —packaging box in a second embodiment

FIG. 3A—packaging box side view

FIG. 3B—front view of open packaging box

FIG. 4 —packaging box, apple use embodiment

FIG. 5 —packaging box, peach use embodiment

FIG. 6 —packaging box, avocado use embodiment

FIG. 7 —stacked packaging boxes.

Now a more detailed description of a first embodiment of present invention of a packaging box 1 is discussed in relation to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 .

It should be understood that although all features are included in the first embodiment, the invention shall also comprise embodiments having only one or a combination of more than one, but not all, features discussed here.

In present embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 it is provided a consumer box for fruit, berries and vegetables or the like.

The packaging box 1 comprising at least four walls 2, 3, 11, 12 comprising at least a front wall 3 two opposing side walls 11, 12 and a back wall 2, a bottom 13, a lid 4, a first side 41 of the lid 4 is connected to the upper end of the back wall 12, and a second side 7 of the lid, opposite the first side 41, is adapted to be fastened on the outside of the front wall 3. The lid 4 is adapted to be fastened to the outside of the front wall 3 which may comprise fastening means such as a strip of glue 31 The back wall 2 having a back wall height h1 being substantial equal, equal to, or higher than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, and the front wall 3, being arrange opposite the back wall 2, having a wall height h2 being less than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 to be contained, such that when the lid 4 is closed, the space available for the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 can be constrained by closing and fastening the lid 4 over and to the outside of the front wall 3.

Having the glue 31 arranged on the outside of the front wall 3, and fastening the lid 4 over and to the outside of the front wall 3, the front wall 3 being the receiving wall, ensures that no portion of the content of the packaging box will be in contact with the glue or fastening means used for fastening the lid 4 in a closed position. It should be understood that the invention also encompass solutions wherein the same inventive concept is used, for example if the lid 4 was initially connected to the upper portion of the front wall 3, and fastened on the outside of the back wall 2, the back wall 2 being the receiving wall, in a closing operation, then with the fastening means such as glue 31 arranged on a portion of the outside of the back wall 2.

The fastening means 31, such as a strip of glue or tape, may be pre-arranged on the receiving wall, or may be applied in the filling process. Applying glue to the outside of the packaging box 1 ensures that no chemicals are spilled onto the content 40, 50, 60 of the packaging box upon filling and locking. Using double sided tape may be arranged both on a portion of inside of the second side 7 of the lid 4, or the outside of the receiving side of the packaging box 3, for example the front side 3 or the back side 2. The double sided tape may be pre-arranged on the packaging box 1 and the protective layer on the tape may be removed in the packaging operation after content 40, 50, 60 has been filled into the packaging box 1, and before the lid is fastened over the content 40, 50, 60.

In some embodiments where for example the size of the content varies, or where content may require individual pulling force, the fastening means 31′ may optionally be pre-arranged on the inside (dotted lines) of the peripheral lid portion 7 being arranged over and onto the outside of the receiving wall when content is filed and lid is closed over the content. Thus, in this embodiment the prearranged glue have less chance of being exposed, not covered by the lid, when lid is arranged individually.

The effect of the variance in height h1/h2=>1 and where h1 is chosen to be substantially equal to, equal to or larger than the average height of the products 40, 50, 60 to be packed in the packaging box 1, and when h2 is chosen to be considerably less than the average height of the products 40, 50, 60 to be packed. In one example h1 is between 90% and 125% of average height of the products 40, 50, 60 and h2 is between 90% and 50% of average height of the products 40, 50, 60. This provides the unparalleled feature in that when filling the packaging box 1 with for example uniformly sized apples, the lid 4 can be closed over and pulled fairly tight and fastened over the front wall 3 by fastening means such as glue or the like. Now the content inside the box will be firmly held in place by the lid 4 such that when under transport they will not be thrown and tossed around inside the packaging box 1.

The difference in height of the lid from the first side to the second side will optimize the space available inside the box for the products packaged. There is a further advantageous effect, which is that the stacking of products in transport is that when stacking the packaging boxes in side position and placed lid to lid, two and two packaging boxes occupy a close to perfect rectangle area, and being the same height when standing on the side, several layers of these can be stabled upon each other. This will be a great space saving feature and save a lot of transportation. Hence also save the nature from unnecessary pollution related to transport.

The difference in height of the back side 2 and the front side 3 further increase the stability of the packaging box when arrange sideways on a display shelf/table. This way the goods can be better displayed without the risk of falling over.

Ventilation ducts/openings 10 may be provided to increase air circulation inside the packaging box. Typically the lid itself contains sufficient openings for ventilation, but in the event a fairly tight lid is used it may be necessary to provide further ventilation holes The corner hole visualized in the figure is merely one example of such additional ventilation. The skilled person will adapt these ventilation openings in accordance with need and suitability.

The packaging box 1 may be coated/impregnated on the inside to avoid moisture from the fruit, berries and vegetables to degrade the packaging box material.

A filling process may fill from the top.

In a further advantageous embodiment the packaging box 1 comprise a tear able opening 14 feature in the peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7. The tear able peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7 is attached over and the outside of the front side 3 of the packaging box 1.

The peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7 being tear able along a tear line 14, once the lid is locked and the peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7 is glued/fixed.

Thus when opening a box with content for the first time a customer may start gripping a gripping tongue 6 being provided protruding from the tear able portion 5 of the peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7, and tear the peripheral lid portion 5, 6, 7 along the side wall tear line 14, and continue to tear the tear able portion 5 and thus being able to open the box as illustrated in FIG. 1C.

Instead of, or partly substituting, the tear feature described above, further tear lines 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 may be provided in the lid 4 to enable opening only portions of the lid, and thus keep the holding support for the fruits, berries or vegetables 30, 40, 50 not being removed from the box.

All tear lines 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 may be partially perforated lines cut through or almost cut through the side or edge of the side/top wall it is arranged. The purpose is to provide a defined tearing line/edge when a tearing force is applied.

The lid may be provided with openings 8 and recesses 9 for providing easy inspection of, but prevention of accessibility to vulnerable portions of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 30, 40, 50. One typically very vulnerable portion is the stem of the avocado. A trick to find out if the avocado is ripe for consumption is to pull the stem off and inspect the area under the stem together with the force necessary to pull the stem of. This is however a test that only should be performed by the consumer when the avocado has been purchased. There is considerable loss in retail by customers destroying the avocados in the shop by pulling the stem on avocados on display and not purchasing them. The stem-test can thereby not be used later by the next customer actually buying the avocado. Present invention thus provide a way to safely package and display the product but also holds the product firmly inside the package box 1 such that no one can access the vulnerable portions, for example the stem of the avocado.

The present invention thus provides a packaging box 1 for use in a method wherein one or more fruit, berries or vegetables are arranged in a packaging box according to the above description and figures, the method comprise of the following steps:

filling the packaging box with content,

tightening the lid over the content,

fastening the lid over and onto the outside of the second of the at least four walls, and

wherein the tightening of the lid over the content, may comprise to tighten the lid with a predefined pulling force.

Typically the tightening force may be used when adapting a packaging machine to perform filling and lid closing attaching/gluing. The pull force should be adjustable for being adapted to the tolerance and firmness of for example the fruits, berries or vegetables 30, 40, 50 to be packed.

In FIG. 7 an example of how a number of packaging boxes according to the present invention may be stacked to save store space. The effect of having a back wall 2 of larger height than the front wall 3 is that although the footprint is less than the square h1*h2 when placed standing on a side, the stability of the upright standing packaging box has the stability of close to the said square footprint 70. This provides the outlet to be able to showcase the lid portion of the packaging box in much more visible way when the packaging box is placed in its side with the lid 4 turned towards the shopper. This can be achieved by the present invention and in a manner where the stability of the raised up packaging box is good enough for not risking the packaging box to fall over.

The present invention has even more advantages in transport, since the filled packaging box has minimal top room between the content and the lid, it may easily be placed on its side without harming the content. In a position where the packaging box 1 is standing on one side 11, 12, it will provide a firm and stiff construction for stabling in a larger crate, without using excessive material. Both the footprint may be optimized when stabling the standing packaging boxes 1 lid to lid as illustrated in FIG. 7 , and even more space saving when several layers of packaging boxes may be packed in a larger box. By formfitting the larger box size, which is adapted to the precise size of a multiple of packaging boxes standing on their side, the larger packaging box may be stacked in multiples above each other without harming the packed content of the packaging boxes 1.

The packaging box 1 is provided for a further reason, which is to invent a packaging box with unique features including low ecological footprint. The present invention packaging box may be produced in 100% recyclable and biodegradable material, such as cardboard, and at the same time provide a product containing no harmful chemicals or components.

Additional ventilation/drainage openings 10 may be provided in the bottom corners of the packaging box.

The invention can further be defined by a first embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables comprising: at least four walls 2,3,11,12 comprising at least a front wall 3 two opposing side walls 11,12 and a back wall 12, a bottom 13, and a lid 4, wherein a first side 41 of the lid 4 is connected to the upper end of one of the back wall 2 and front wall 3, and a second side of the lid 7, opposite the first side 41, being adapted for connecting to the outside of a receiving side wall, the receiving side wall being the other of the back wall 2 and the front wall 3, wherein the back wall 2 height h1 being substantially equal to, equal to or higher than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, and the front wall 3 being arrange opposite the back wall 2 and having a front wall height h2 being less than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 to be contained, such that when the lid 4 is closed, the space available for the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 can be constrained by closing and fastening the lid 4 over and to the outside of the front wall 3.

The invention can further be defined by a second embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to the first embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the receiving wall comprise fastening means 31 for fastening the lid 4 over and to the receiving wall 3, 4.

The invention can further be defined by a third embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to the second embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the fastening means 31 is comprised of a section of glue arranged on the outside of the receiving wall 3, 4, such that the lid can be fastened to the outside of the front wall 3 when tightly arrange to cover the fruit, berries and vegetables 40, 50, 60 to be contained.

The invention can further be defined by a fourth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to third embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the lid has openings 8 and recesses 9 for providing easy inspection of, but prevention of accessibility to vulnerable portions of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 such as the stem of the avocado.

The invention can further be defined by a fifth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to fourth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the second side 7 of the lid 4 comprise one or more perforation lines 14 for providing an easy tear open feature of the lid 4 when the lid 4 has been closed and fastened over the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60.

The invention can further be defined by a sixth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to fifth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the packaging box is made of cardboard.

The invention can further be defined by a seventh embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to sixth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the packaging box is made of recyclable and biodegradable material.

The invention can further be defined by an eight embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to seventh embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the packaging box is made of non-toxic material.

The invention can further be defined by a ninth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to eight embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the lid 4 comprise one or more portion perforation lines 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 for providing an easy tear open feature of the lid 4 for opening a portion of the lid 4 and to provide access to a portion of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60.

The invention can further be defined by a tenth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables according to any one of the first to ninth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, wherein the back wall 2 height h1 is between 90% and 125% of average height of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60 and front wall 3 height h2 is between 90% and 50% of average height of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60.

The invention can further be defined by a first method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables wherein one or more fruit, berries or vegetables are arranged in a packaging box 1 according to any one of the first to ninth embodiment of a packaging box 1 for fruit, berries and vegetables, the method further comprise of:

filling the packaging box with fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60

tightening the lid over the fruit, berries or vegetables, and

fastening the lid 4 over and onto the outside of the receiving wall 2, 3.

The invention can further be defined by a second method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables according to the first method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables, wherein the tightening of the lid 4 over the fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60, comprise to tighten the lid with a predefined pulling force.

The invention can further be defined by a third method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables according to the first or second method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables, wherein the tightening of the lid 4 over the fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60, comprise to arrange fastening means 31 to the outside of the receiving wall before tighten the lid with a predefined pulling force.

The invention can further be defined by a fourth method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables according to the first or second method embodiment for packing fruit, berries or vegetables, wherein the tightening of the lid 4 over the fruit, berries or vegetables 40, 50, 60, comprise to take of protective cover of pre-arranged double sided tape on the outside of the receiving wall before tighten the lid with a predefined pulling force. 

1. A packaging box for fruit, berries and vegetables, the packaging box comprising: at least four walls comprising at least a front wall, two opposing side walls, a back wall, a bottom, and a lid, wherein a first side of the lid is connected to an upper end of one of the back wall and front wall; and a second side of the lid, opposite the first side adapted for connecting to an outside of a receiving side wall, the receiving side wall being the other of the back wall and the front wall, wherein a height of the back wall is substantially equal to or higher than an average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, the front wall being arranged opposite the back wall and having a height of the front wall being less than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, such that when the lid is closed, a space available for contained fruit, berries or vegetables can be constrained by closing and fastening the lid over and to an outside of the front wall.
 2. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the receiving wall comprises fastening means for fastening the lid over and to the receiving wall.
 3. The packaging box of claim 2, wherein the fastening means is comprised of a section of glue arranged on the outside of the receiving wall, such that the lid can be fastened to the outside of the front wall when tightly arranged to cover the fruit, berries and vegetables to be contained.
 4. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein a peripheral portion of the lid comprises fastening means for fastening the lid over and to the receiving wall.
 5. The packaging box of claim 4, wherein the fastening means is comprised of a section of glue arranged on an inside of the peripheral portion of the lid, such that the lid can be fastened to the outside of the front wall when tightly arranged to cover the fruit, berries and vegetables to be contained.
 6. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises openings and recesses for providing both easy inspection of and prevention of accessibility to vulnerable portions of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables.
 7. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the second side of the lid comprises one or more perforation lines for providing an easy tear open feature of the lid when the lid has been closed and fastened over the contained fruit, berries or vegetables.
 8. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the packaging box is made of cardboard.
 9. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the packaging box is made of recyclable and biodegradable material.
 10. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the packaging box is made of non-toxic material.
 11. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises one or more portion perforation lines for providing an easy tear open feature of the lid for opening a portion of the lid and to provide access to a portion of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables.
 12. The packaging box of claim 1, wherein a height of the back wall is between ninety percent (90%) and one hundred twenty five percent (125%) of an average height of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables and a height of the front wall is between ninety percent (90%) and fifty percent (50%) of the average height of the contained fruit, berries or vegetables.
 13. A method for packing fruit, berries or vegetables, wherein one or more fruit, berries or vegetables are arranged in a packaging box, the method comprising: filling the packaging box with fruit, berries or vegetables; tightening a lid of the packaging box over the fruit, berries or vegetables; and fastening the lid over and onto an outside of a receiving side wall of the packaging box, wherein the packaging box comprises: at least four walls comprising at least a front wall, two opposing side walls, a back wall, a bottom, and a lid, wherein a first side of the lid is connected to an upper end of one of the back wall and front wall; and a second side of the lid, opposite the first side adapted for connecting to the outside of the receiving side wall, the receiving side wall being the other of the back wall and the front wall, wherein a height of the back wall is substantially equal to or higher than an average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, the front wall being arranged opposite the back wall and having a height of the front wall being less than the average height of the fruit, berries or vegetables to be contained, such that when the lid is closed, a space available for the contained fruit, berries or vegetables can be constrained by closing and fastening the lid over and to an outside of the front wall.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein tightening of the lid over the fruit, berries or vegetables comprises tightening the lid with a predefined pulling force.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein tightening the lid over the fruit, berries or vegetables comprises arranging fastening means to the outside of the receiving wall before tightening the lid with a predefined pulling force.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein tightening the lid over the fruit, berries or vegetables comprises arranging fastening means to an inside of a peripheral portion of the lid before tightening the lid with a predefined pulling force.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein tightening the lid over the fruit, berries or vegetables comprises taking off protective cover of pre-arranged double sided tape on the outside of the receiving wall, or to an inside of a peripheral portion of the lid, before tightening the lid with a predefined pulling force.
 18. The packaging box of claim 6, wherein the vulnerable portions comprise at least a stem of an avocado. 